Peter
Bruns and Roglit Ishay present an enterprising
programme of music by Schubert and Schumann,
recently recorded with excellent sound
and with excellent supporting documentation.
The performances match these high standards,
and the disc therefore has a strong
appeal.

In
1824 Schubert composed the Arpeggione
Sonata. The arpeggione was a six-stringed
bowed instrument, the recent invention
of Johann Staufer, whose only exponent
was Schubert's friend Vincenz Schuster.
Before long it became obsolete, and
this, its only noteworthy composition,
was soon appropriated for the cello.

There
are three movements each having distinctive
characteristics. Peter Bruns seems particularly
at home in the lyrical sonata form Allegro
(TRACK 1: 0.00) and the richly romantic
Adagio. There might be room for
a faster tempo in the finale, but the
playing is first class.

During
1849 Schumann turned his attention to
chamber music and composed several miniatures
for clarinet, horn and cello with piano
accompaniment. The Adagio and Allegro
was originally entitled Romance
and Allegro for the intended combination
of horn and piano; the version for cello
was a later arrangement. This piece
and its fellows gathered here are among
a series of duo miniatures Schumann
wrote during what proved to be the final
years of his tragically short life.
Although in this excellent performance
of the Allegro, memories of the
original scoring are not dispelled,
the music is conveyed with a warm understanding
of Schumann’s musical style (TRACK 4:
4.32).

The
delightful pieces ‘in the folk style’
are also typical of the fluency Schumann
achieved in this productive year, despite
living in poor health amid the political
turmoil of Dresden just months after
the uproar caused by the revolution
of the previous year. The first piece
in the sequence is a lively dance, to
be played ‘with humour’. Perhaps this
is reflected too in the way that the
instruments exchange roles and material
in the central section, as these artists
abundantly show (TRACK 5: 0.00). The
other pieces range widely, and move
onward to a lively finale and an emphatic
conclusion.

The
three Fantasiestücke were
originally written for the clarinet,
but barely a week after he had completed
the first version, Schumann made alternative
editions for either violin or cello.
The directions in the score make it
clear that the pieces are intended to
be played as a suite rather than separately,
their mood developing from nostalgia
through to a proud determination. Bruns
and Ishat certainly convey the sense
of unity implied by these directions.

Among
these collected items by Schumann, the
‘stranger’ is the arrangement for cello
and piano of Bach’s Cello Suite in C
major, BWV1009. Like Brahms and Mendelssohn,
Schumann was a great admirer of Bach,
and various compositions testify to
this. It was during the last year of
his life that Schumann made several
Bach arrangements, including cello and
piano versions of all six suites for
solo cello. The problem for the contemporary
listener who knows the original version
is that the addition of the piano part
seems somewhat superfluous. Schumann
exudes taste and sensitivity of course,
but even these persuasive performers
cannot convince that this is a major
addition to the duo repertory.

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